CDC reports rise in child vaccinations

By Alaric DeArment

ATLANTA — Childhood vaccination rates are on the rise, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC's 2010 National Immunization Survey of more than 17,000 households found that among children born between January 2007 and July 2009, immunizations for measles, mumps, rubella, rotavirus, hepatitis A, pneumococcal disease and haemophilus influenza type B were at 90% or more. In addition, vaccinations against polio, chickenpox and hepatitis B were remained at or above 90%.

"As recent outbreaks of measles and whooping cough have shown, vaccine-preventable diseases are still around us," CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases director Anne Schuchat said. "And it is important that healthcare providers, community groups and state programs support parents in assuring that children are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases."

Notably, for most vaccines, immunization rates did not differ between racial and ethnic groups, and thanks to recent increases in coverage among minority children, levels for most vaccines in other racial and ethnic groups were similar to or higher than those among white children. This contrasts with other health services, where large disparities have remained. Overall, less than 1% of toddlers did not receive any vaccines.